Junie B Jones and the Jungle Boy
by movieNcartoons
Summary: Junie B. Jones and her friends, Lucille and Grace join Mowgli and Ranjan on a little hiking trip through the forest, where they encounter Mowgli's old friends and a certain adversary. Will Junie B. and her friends be able to survive in the wild or risk being eaten by the man-eating tiger, Shere Khan?
1. The Rhythm of the Jungle

**Author's Note:**

 **Like "The Three Stooges of JobTrain" and "Ed, Edd n Eddy in Wonderland," "Junie B. Jones and the Jungle Boy" is based on my imagination.**

 **While I was in 5th Grade, I've read all 20 Junie B. Jones books. Also, "The Jungle Book 2" was just around the corner when the year 2003 started.**

 **So please note that the story you are about to read takes place at Foster City School while the jungle is replaced with a more natural setting, the forest.**

 **And now, without further ado, under the narration of Junie B. Jones, I present to you, "Junie B. Jones and the Jungle Boy," the prequel to "Nathan Rosenberg: 5th Grader," in theatres everywhere, October 19th.**

* * *

 **M** y name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice, except I don't like Beatrice. I just like B and that's all.

I go to kindergarten at Foster City School. That is where Nathan Rosenberg goes to 5th Grade.

Only this is not a story about Nathan. This is about his classmate, Mowgli, and the adventures we had together.

It all started one day at recess while me and my bestest friends, Grace and Lucille were playing horses.

As always...

"I'm Brownie!" I shouted.

"I'm Blackie!" shouted Lucille.

"And I'm Yellowie!" shouted that Grace.

We ran outside of Room 9 and did what horses do; gallop, trot and snort.

Not far away, Mowgli and Ranjan were playing a game of their own.

Ranjan is in my kindergarten class. He is new to Foster City School, and so is Mowgli.

They must be brothers, I think.

"Amscray, you mean old tiger," yelled Ranjan. as he chased Mowgli. "Or I'll tie some fire to your tail and burn your butt!"

"I like to see you try, monkey!" replied Mowgli.

Only too bad for him 'cause he didn't see where he was going. And he bumped into me.

"Hey, watch where you're going, mister!" I said.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Junie B." said Mowgli as he helped himself up. "Ranjan and I were just playing a game of our own."

I did a frown at him and said. "If you two are playing horses, guess what? That's our game!"

"Well, actually, we were playing tigers and monkeys." explained Mowgli.

"Tigers and monkeys?" repeated that Grace.

"What kind of game is that?" asked Lucille.

"Baloo and I used to play it all the time in the jungle." said Mowgli. "Man, we had some crazy times together."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on." I said. "You use to live in the jungle?"

"You bet I did." said Mowgli. "Here, let me show you a little trick I learned back there."

He walked over to a tree and knocked on it with his butt, catching a falling banana, which he shot out of its peel like a gun and into my mouth.

"Mmm!" I said while eating the banana. "That was the most delicious trick I ever saw."

"Didn't anyone tell you not to play with your food?" asked a voice.

We turned to see Shanti leaning on a wall.

Like Mowgli, Shanti is in the same 5th grade class as Nathan, where she gets a lot of straight A's than everyone else.

"I wasn't playing with my food, Shanti." said Mowgli. "I was just showing the girls a trick I learned...in the jungle."

"Well, here's a little trick I learned right here at home." said Shanti as she pulled out a pear and tossed it into the air.

The pear caught on a branch and peeled itself all the way down to Shanti's hand.

"Wow, that's a neater trick!" exclaimed Ranjan as he munched on the pear.

Mowgli groaned in jealousy as Shanti said. "It's like I told Ranjan, girls. Don't listen to him."

"She's right, girls." said Mowgli. "Don't listen to me, listen to the jungle."

At first, me and my friends heard nothing. But then, we heard something that started to get louder.

"Can you hear it?" asked Mowgli.

"Yeah, I can hear it." I said.

"Me too." said that Grace. "It sounds so...jazzy!"

"Yes, well, I would've preferred Tchaikovsky." said Lucille.

"But, when you hear that rhythm, Lucille." said Mowgli. "You get a crazy feeling inside."

"Like what?" asked Lucille.

 **Mowgli:** _That morning sun peeks over the mountains_  
 _And all the rhinos rub their eyes_  
 _When they hear_

"Hear what?" I asked.

 _"Hear the jungle rhythm."_ sang Mowgli.

 _Those birds are tap-tap-tappin' the tree trunks_  
 _The busy bee hums as he flies_  
 _Loud and clear_  
 _To the jungle rhythm_

 _Now you can hightail it out of the jungle_  
 _But it never leaves your heart_  
 _First you feel that beat start_  
 _bubbling under_  
 _Then you hear the tom-toms_  
 _Loud as thunder_

 _It's moving me!_  
 _Sounds a lot like being free_  
 _When you feel_  
 _Feel the jungle rhythm_  
 _Feel the jungle rhythm_

Soon everyone joined in as Mowgli kept on singing.

 _Can't do without rhythm_  
 _And when it fills the air_  
 _Animals everywhere_  
 _Join in the dance_

 _You'll dance along with 'em_  
 _Feeling it steal your soul_  
 **Jamal Hall:** _We'll stomp our paws!_  
 **Charlotte:** _Flap our wings!_  
 _Maybe do one or two crazy things_

"Caw, caw!" exclaimed Ranjan, who pretended he was a bird.

"Yeah, that's it!" said Mowgli.

Then, everyone started making jungle sounds, dressed up as their favorite animals and followed Mowgli all over the school as if he was leading a parade.

 _Check out those chat-chat-chattering monkeys_  
 _Swinging through the banyan trees_  
 _Two by two (two by two)_  
 _To the jungle rhythm_

 _Sounds like a wolf pack_  
 _Way in the distance_  
 _Singing pretty harmonies_  
 _Woo-woo-woo (woo-woo-woo)_  
 _To the jungle rhythm_

 _Now you can hightail it out of the jungle_  
 _But it never leaves your heart_  
 _First you feel that beat start_  
 _Bubbling under_  
 _Then you hear the tom toms_  
 _Loud as thunder_

 _It's moving me!_  
 _Sounds a lot like being free_  
 _When I feel (When I feel)_  
 _(When I feel) (When I feel)_  
 _Feel the jungle rhythmmmm (x5)_

Only too bad for us, 'cause while we're singing and dancing, the school bell rang. That means the end of recess.

"Darn it!" I said. "Just when it was getting good."

"You girls can wait till after school to hear more of that jungle music." said Shanti. "But right now, we have to get back to class."

"Till after school." Mowgli recalled Shanti's words. Then, his whole face lit up. "That's it!"

"What's it?" asked that Grace.

"Listen, this may sound a little awkward," said Mowgli. "But my step-family and I are heading over to Muir Woods for a hike on Saturday. And I was wondering if you'd like to come join us. That way, you can meet my friends and hear the call of the wild without any distractions."

"Call of the wild?" I asked. "I thought you grew up in the jungle."

"Forest, jungle. What's the difference?" said Mowgli. "What do you say?"

Me and Grace looked at each other and smiled.

"I'm free this Saturday!" I said.

"I'm free too!" said that Grace.

"I don't know about Saturday." said Lucille. "My mommy and daddy and brother are going away for the weekend. So it's just going to be my nanna and me."

"I'll take that as a possible yes." said Mowgli. "What about you, Shanti? You wanna come with us?"

Shanti nearly lost her grip on her books when she heard that.

"Me, out in the forest with you?" she said. "I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last kid on Earth. Besides, I have a lot of work to do. And if the rest of your party animals had any sense, you'd be doing the same."

"Yeah, well, it's your loss!" I called out as Shanti walked away.

"Oh, why do we need Shanti for, anyway?" said Lucille.

"Yeah." said that Grace. "The five of us can still hear the jungle rhythm together."

Mowgli shrugged. "I guess."

Just then, the school bell rang again. That means it's time for class.

"Uh...catch ya gators later!" said Mowgli, who then zoomed off to 5th Grade.

"In a while, crocodile!" Ranjan called out.

Just then, a familiar voice called out to us. "Lucille, Junie B., Grace, and Ranjan. Didn't you hear the bell? It's time to go back to class."

That was our teacher, Mrs. She has another name too, but I just like Mrs., and that's all.

"What were you kids up to, anyway?" she asked.

"We were listening to the rhythm of the jungle." I said. "Can you hear it?"

Only Mrs. heard nothing.

"I think you've been spending too much time outside, Junie B." she said, ruffling my hair. "Let's get you back to class."

And so guess what? We went back to class.


	2. Concerned, Much?

That night, while we had roast chicken for dinner, I told Mother and Daddy about Mowgli and how he invited me and my friends to go on this hike with him.

Mother shook her head. "I don't think this is such a good idea, Junie B., going out with someone you don't know."

"Yeah, only he's not a stranger, Mother." I said. "On account of we've met since school started. Plus also, his step-brother is my kindergarten class."

"Oh, really?" said Daddy. "What else do you know about Mowgli?"

"Well, he did say he used to live in the jungle." I said.

Daddy spitted out his drink in surprise.

"The jungle?" he coughed. "You mean with all those lions and...and...and tigers and b...b...b...b...bears out there?"

"Oh, my." groaned Mother.

"I know they are _oh my_." I said. "Only there were no lions where he grewed up."

"It's pronounced ' _grew,'_ Junie B." said Mother. "There's no e-d in _'grew.'"_

"Whatever." I said.

Mother did a frown. Only she didn't look angry. She looked concernish, I think.

"Well, it was nice that Mowgli invited you and your friends, honey. But I still don't think..."

"Now, hang on, Susan." interrupted Daddy.

Susan is my mother's name. Except for sometimes, most people call her Sue or Susie.

"I think she might be onto something."

"She is?" asked Mother.

"I am?" I asked.

"Yes." said Daddy. "In fact, we could all use some fresh air. And I think Ollie's ready for his first experience outside the house."

Ollie is my baby brother. So far, I am not impressed with him. He doesn't know how to do anything around here.

Mother thought about what Daddy said.

"Well, it would be nice to get away from it all."

Then, she looked at me. I smiled very sweetly.

Mother sucked in her cheeks.

"All right," she said. "I'll drop you off at school tomorrow so I can pick up some numbers."

I sprang out my chair real thrilled.

"Hooray!" I shouted. "Hooray! Hooray!"

"On one condition, missy." said Mother."

I stopped shouting 'cause missy is sometimes my name when I'm in trouble. Only that is not the case.

"You have to promise to stay with us at all times." said Mother. "I don't want you wandering off on your own again."

"Don't worry, Mother." I said. "I won't go wandering off on my own again."

Only I crossed my fingers behind my back, on account of who knows what Mowgli has in store for us.

"Now can I be excused?" I asked.

 _"May_ I be excused?" said Mother.

"Yeah, only I asked first." I said.

"Oh, just go." said Mother.

After that, I zoomed to my room, where I looked in my closet and my toy box and under my bed.

"Whatcha lookin' for, Junie B.?" asked my stuffed elephant, Phillip Johnny Bob.

"I know I had a so-very hat in there somewhere." I said.

"Why do you need a so-very hat for?" asked Phillip Johnny Bob.

"You'll see, Phillip Johnny Bob." I said.

Just then, I felt something sturdy under my bed.

"Aha! There it is!" I shouted, pulling out my so-very hat. "Now all I need is my exploring outfit."

I hurried back to my closet and looked iniside.

"Why do you need an exploring outfit for?" asked Phillip Johnny Bob.

I chuckled slyly. "You'll see."


	3. Whatcha Wanna Do?

Somewhere, out in Muir Woods, four vultures sat on top of a tree, feeling bored.

"Hey, Flaps, what we gonna do?" asked one named Buzzy.

"I don't know. Whatcha wanna do?" asked Flaps.

"I've got it!" announced another vulture named Ziggy. "Let's flap over to the east side of the forest! They've always got a bit of action, a bit of a swinging scene. All right?"

"Ah, come off it, Ziggy!" scoffed Buzzy. "Things are right dead all over."

"You mean you wish they were!" laughed Ziggy.

Buzzy and Flaps laughed, except for yet another vulture named Dizzy, who said "Ha, ha. Very funny."

"Okay, so what we gonna do?" Buzzy asked again.

"I don't know." said Flaps. "Whatcha wanna do?"

"Look, Flaps, first I say 'what we gonna do?,' then you say 'I don't know, whatcha wanna do?,' then I say, 'what we gonna do?,' you say 'whatcha wanna do?,' 'what we gonna do,' 'whatcha wanna...let's do something!"

"Okay. What you wanna do?"

"Oh, blimey, there you go again. The same notes again!"

"I've got it!" announced Ziggy. "This time, I've really got it."

"So you got it." said Buzzy, who asked Flaps again. "So what we gonna do?"

"Hold it, lads." interrupted Dizzy. "Look, Shere Khan's at it again."

"Hey," said Flaps. "What's ol' Stripes up to now."

From atop their tree, the vultures could see Shere Khan, who is a tiger, by the way, looking at something.

"Oh, dear." said Ziggy. "He's hunting a deer."

"That's a doe, Ziggy." said Dizzy.

"Well, what's the difference?" laughed Ziggy.

The other vultures laughed too.

Shere Khan ignored them and kept looking at the doe, ready to pounce on her any minute.

"So what we gonna do?" asked Buzzy.

"I don't know." said Flaps. "Hey, now, don't start that again!"

Only too bad for Flaps, 'cause his yelling caused the doe to run off.

Shere Khan looked up at the tree and glared at the vultures for making him lose his breakfast.

"I think they heard us." said Dizzy.

"You think?" asked Buzzy.

"I've got it!" announced Ziggy. "Let's get outta here!"

"Gimme room! Gangway!" said Buzzy as he and the vultures flew away.

"I loathe those buzzards." Shere Khan said to himself.

* * *

The vultures landed on another tree, just before they heard two loud honks. They turned to see two parked cars next to the visitor center.

"Uh-oh." said Flaps. "We've got customers."

"And where there's customers." said Buzzy. "There's bound to be an all-you-can-eat buffet."

* * *

Those two cars were ours; Mother and Daddy's and Mowgli's stepparents'.

"Thanks again for doing this, Mrs. Jones." said Mowgli once he got outside his stepparents' car. "I really appreciate it."

"Well, to be honest," said Mother as she took Ollie out of the car. "I did need a little convincing."

"Hey, he looks just like me!" said Rajan.

"Yes, he certainly does." said Mowgli's stepmother, who also happens to be Ranjan's mother. "May I?"

"Oh, of course." said Mother as she handed Ollie over to the stepmother, who said. "Aww, he's adorable."

"Yeah, only he doesn't do much." I said.

Daddy ruffled my hair, only I was wearing my so-very hat.

"When he gets older, Junie B., he will." he said.

Mowgli walked up to me.

"Nice choice of clothes." he said.

"I was going to wear this for Halloween," I said. "But why wait till then?"

I pointed at my head.

"And what about this hat I'm wearing? It is the same type of hat explorers wear when they walking into the so-very."

Mowgli raised an eyebrow. "So-very?"

"It's pronounced _safari,_ Junie B." said that Grace as she and Lucille got out of the car. car.

I rolled my eyes way back in my head while Mowgli looked at Lucille.

She was wearing a pink dress with white ruffles on it.

In every way, it almost looked like she was wearing a cake, I think.

"Isn't that cake of a dress too much, Lucille?" asked Mowgli.

"Excuse me, but my nanna bought this all the way from London." said Lucille. "And it costed 149 pounds, 194 dollars in the United States."

"She must've spent a fortune on a dress like that." said Dizzy from atop the tree.

"Yeah, no foolin'." agreed Buzzy.

"Lucille's nanna is rich." I said to Mowgli, who said back. "No wonder she acts like a princess."

"That's Lucille's lifestyle for ya." said that Grace.

Just then, Mowgli's stepdaddy, who also happens to be Ranjan's daddy, walked up to us.

"Now that we're all acquainted with each other," he said. "Let's us embark on this grand adventure of ours."

"Do you even know where we're going?" asked Daddy.

"Well, according to this map," said the stepdaddy. "We should go right. I heard there are a lot of good picnic spots over there."

"Oh, that reminds me." said Mowgli. "I think my lunch is still in the car. You go on ahead. We'll catch up."

Mother and the stepdaddy looked at each other.

"Well, okay, but don't take too long." said Mother.

"And be sure to close the door when you're done." added the stepdaddy as he and Mother walked towards the right path with Daddy and the stepmother.

"I will." said Mowgli.

Only he didn't take out his lunch from the car. He just closed the door.

"You didn't bring your lunch, did you?" I asked.

"Why bring lunch when lunch is out there." said Mowgli as he led us towards the path.

"You know a good place where we could eat?" asked Lucille.

"Are you kidding? The forest is like one big buffet." said Mowgli. "All we have to do is go left."

"Why go left?" asked that Grace.

"Because this is where the real fun begins." said Mowgli. "Come on."

So we went left, unaware that Kaa the snake was watching us.

"The Man-Cub hasssss returned." he hissed to himself. "And he's brought friends with him."

As they watched Kaa slither away, the vultures knew he was up to no good.

"You know, something tells me we better keep an eye on those little tykes." said Buzzy.

"Yeah," agreed Dizzy. "In case Mr. Coils or you-know-who come along."

And so the vultures took off, flying their fastest after us.


	4. The Bare Necessities of Life

While heading left, we tried to keep up with Mowgli and Ranjan, but those guys were a lot speedier than they look. Almost as fast as Grace, even.

"Wowie...wow...wow." I gasped. "That kid...is a shoo-in...to be in the...Olympics."

"Beginner's...luck." gasped that Grace.

Just then, we heard a loud trumpet. Me and my friends turned to see a herd of elephants marching towards us.

 **All** : _Hup two three four  
Keep it up, two three four  
Hup two three four  
Keep it up, two three four_

"Hey, Phil!" I said. "You gotta see this!"

Philip Johnny Bob poked his head out of my backpack and stared at the elephants.

"Wowie-wow-wow! They look just like me!"

"Only they're not made out of softie grey velvet like you!" I said.

"Company, sound off!" ordered the elephants' leader, Colonel Hathi.

 **All** : _Oh, the aim of our patrol_  
 **Slob Elephant** : _Is a question rather droll_  
 **All** : _For to march and drill_  
 _Over field and hill [all trumpet]_  
 **Hathi** : _Is a military goal_  
 **All** : _Is a military goal_

 _Hup two three four_  
 _Dress it up, two three four_

 _By the ranks or single file_  
 _Over ev'ry jungle mile_  
 _Oh, we stamp and crush_  
 _Through the underbrush_  
 **Hathi, Jr.** _:[trumpet]_  
 _In a military style_  
 **All** : _In a military style_

Me and Philip Johnny Bob wanted to go with the elephants, but Lucille and that Grace grabbed me by my explorer suit and kept going.

Only just then, we saw something on the ground. And it's called _Mowgli left his clothes behind!_

"Eww." said Lucille. "Don't tell me Mowgli's running around naked."

"I'm not entirely naked, Lucille." said a voice.

We looked up to see Mowgli climbing down from vine to vine.

"Whoa, is that a Speedo you're wearing?" I asked. "'Cause you look like a chunk wearing that thing."

Mowgli blushed.

"Uh, sure. You can say that." he said. "Oh, and by the way, it's pronounced _hunk,_ not _chunk._ "

I rolled my eyes way back in my head again.

"What were you doing up there anyway?" asked that Grace.

"Oh, I was on a lookout...for Shere Khan." said Mowgli.

"Who's Shere Khan?" asked Lucille.

Mowgli looked back in surprise. "You've never heard of Shere Khan? He's the meanest, nastiest tiger you'll ever face in your whole life."

"You know him?" I asked.

"Do I know him?" said Mowgli. "I fought him myself. And yet, he's still out there, seeking his bloodthirsty revenge. So keep your ears open."

He looked from one direction to the other.

"And always watch your back, or the last thing you'll ever hear is..."

Just then, a huge bear came out of nowhere and let out a huge roar.

Me, Lucille and that Grace jumped back and fell into a nearby lake.

"We got 'em good, Papa Bear!" said Mowgli as he and the bear did a high-five.

"You should've seen the looks on your faces!" laughed the bear.

"You're...you're Baloo?" asked that Grace.

"You better believe it." said Baloo.

"Was that another one of your jungle tricks?" I asked.

"One of many." said Mowgli as he helped us out of the water, in which a very angry Lucille rose out of.

"Look at my new dress!" she hollered. "It's soaked!"

"Now don't you worry, little princess." said Baloo. "Ol' Baloo's got it covered."

"No, no, no. Please." said Lucille, whom Baloo grabbed and dried off with his fur as if he was a towel.

"There. Is that better?" he asked once he was done drying Lucille off.

She looked at herself and said. "Of sorts."

That Grace looked around. "Where's Ranjan?"

Just then, a black panther named Bagheera bursted through the bushes. Ranjan was chasing after him up a tree.

"Looks like Baggy found him." said Baloo.

"Yes, well, I think it's the other way around." said Bagheera as he looked down to see Ranjan trying to get a hold of his tail.

"Hey, Bagheera." said Mowgli. "How's it hangin'?"

Bagheera sighed. "Mowgli, we've talked about this. You can't keep coming back and forth into the forest. It's not safe out there."

"Aww, stop worrying, Baggy." said Baloo. "He's perfectly welcome."

"Not with Shere Kha..."

Only too bad for Bagheera, 'cause before he could finish his sentence, he felt Ranjan grab his tail.

"Wha...what are you up to now?" he asked.

"Don't swing on a string. It's much too frail." chanted Ranjan as he swung back and forth. "The best kinda swing is a panther's tail. Whee!"

"Cease this tail swinging at once!" demanded Bagheera.

Except for just then, the branch he was hanging onto broke loose, and Bagheera fell to the ground.

"Is he OK?" asked that Grace.

Bagheera let out a groan.

"Sure, he is." said Baloo. "Of course, he is."

"You know, he sounded just like my Grampa Frank Miller whenever he says that." I whispered to Mowgli, who whispered back. "Oh, does he, now?"

"So, what brings my Li'l Britches back to these neck of the woods?" asked Baloo.

"Well," said Mowgli. "I was hoping you could teach these fine girls and my dear stepbrother the good ol' bare necessities of life."

"Oh, no." said Bagheera, still on the ground. "Don't even think about..."

"What's the good ol' bare necessities of life?" I asked.

Mowgli and Baloo looked at each other and laughed.

"Well, is it one of those jungle games you use to play?" asked Lucille.

Baloo stopped laughing and cleared his throat.

"Close, but it's more like this, little princess." he said, winking at Mowgli. "All's ya gotta do is...

 **Baloo and Mowgli:** _Look for the bare necessities  
The simple bare necessities  
Forget about your worries and your strife  
_

"I love this song!" said Ziggy as he and the other vultures watched. "This one really swings."

 **Baloo and Mowgli:** _I mean the bare necessities  
Old Mother Nature's recipes  
That brings the bare necessities of life_

Me, Lucille and Grace looked at each other, shrugged and ran to catch up with Mowgli and Baloo, further into the forest.

 _"Wherever I wander, wherever I roam,"_ sang Mowgli as he cracked a coconut on my so-very hat and gave me half of it to drink. _"I couldn't be fonder of my big home."_

"Now, see here!" began Bagheera, only to get bonked on the head by Mowgli's half of the coconut, which he tossed aside after drinking it.

 **Baloo:** _The bees are buzzin' in the tree  
To make some honey just for me  
When you look under the rocks and plants  
And take a glance at the fancy ants  
Then maybe try a few  
_

"You actually eat ants?" asked that Grace.

"You better believe it." said Mowgli as he ate some.

"And you're gonna love the way they tickle." said Baloo.

Smiling to myself, I took my snack cookie out of my backpack, scooped up some ants, and ate it, not seeing Kaa trying to eat me, only to be squashed by the ant rock.

Only too bad for me, 'cause my ant cookie didn't taste that good. So I had to spit it out.

 _"The bare necessities of life will come to you."_ sang Baloo and Mowgli.

"But when?" I asked.

" _They'll come to you!"_ sang Mowgli and Baloo, who came up to a tree and knocked on it with his butt, catching a banana as it fell from the tree.

 **Baloo and Mowgli:** _Look for the bare necessities  
The simple bare necessities  
Forget about your worries and your strife  
I mean the bare necessities  
That's why a bear can rest at ease  
With just the bare necessities of life_

While they were singing, I tried to do the same trick they did. Only, I did it the wrong way, on account of my back was next to it.

Luckily, he was still singing with Baloo, Mowgli showed me how to do it, by hitting the tree on my right side.

And guess what? I got a banana! A lot of bananas that fell from the tree.

 _"Now when you pick a pawpaw,"_ sang Mowgli. " _Or a prickly pear,"_

"Ow!" yelped Lucille as she tried to pick up a pear.

" _And you prick a raw paw,"_ Mowgli went on singing as he handed Lucille a stick. _"Well,_  
 _next time, beware."_

 **Baloo:** _Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw  
When you pick a pear  
Try to use the claw_

Lucille tried to pluck out some pears with the stick, but she pulled so hard that they flew out of the stick, and they landed onto Kaa.

 **Baloo:** _But you don't need to use the claw  
When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw_

As Baloo sang, he hurtled a papaya at Lucille, before she came face to face with Kaa.

"Have I given you a clue?"

"Goal!" shouted Flaps.

The other vultures looked at him in confusion.

"Sorry, got caught up in the moment."

 _"The bare necessities of life will come to you,"_ sang Baloo and Mowgli.

"They'll come to me?" I asked as I climbed onto Baloo's back.

 _"They'll come to you!"_ sang Baloo.

"They'll come to me?" asked Lucille as _she_ climbed onto Baloo's back.

 _"They'll come to you!"_

"They'll come to me?" asked that Grace as _she_ climbed onto Baloo's back.

 _"They'll come to you!"_

"They'll come to me!" shouted Ranjan.

Just then, Baloo stopped in the center of a river.

"Is that it?" asked Lucille.

"Wait for it." said Mowgli.

"Please keep your hands and feet on the bear at all times." announced Baloo. "Thank you and enjoy _'Baloo's Jungle Cruise.'_ "

My face lit up with excitement. "A jungle cruise? You mean, like the one from Disneyland?"

Just then, Baloo slid down a small hill and into the river, with all of us riding his tummy.

 _So just try and relax, yeah cool it  
Fall apart in my backyard  
'Cause let me tell you something, my friends  
If you act like that bee acts, uh uh  
You're working too hard_

 _And don't spend your time lookin' around  
For something you want that can't be found  
When you find out you can live without it  
And go along not thinkin' about it  
I'll tell you something true  
The bare necessities of life will come to you_

"Hey, where's Bagheera going?" I asked, pointing at the panther walking away in disgust, on account of he knew he can't talk some sense into us with Baloo around.

"Ah, don't mind Baggy. He doesn't know what he's missing." said Baloo. "Now, as we were singing."

"Way ahead of ya, Papa Bear!" I said as I pulled my ukulele out my backpack and strummed on it while me and my friends sang along.

 **Me, Lucille & That Grace:** _Look for the bare necessities  
The simple bare necessities  
Forget about your worries and your strife_

"Yeah, now you're gettin' it!" said Mowgli as he, Ranjan, and Baloo sang along with us while the vultures watched from above.

 _I mean the bare necessities  
That's why a bear can rest at ease  
With just the bare necessities of life_

As Kaa watched us drift away, he groaned to himself. "I ssssso dessssspissssse thessssse songs and dance routinesssss."


	5. Monkeynapped

"You must've been so lucky to have this kind of lifestyle." said that Grace as we drifted down the river.

"Well, it's not as fancy as Lucille's," said Mowgli. "But yeah, it's pretty great."

"You bet it is, Li'l Britches." said Baloo. "And I bet you wish you'd stayed longer, huh?"

Me, Lucille and Grace looked at each other uncomfortably. 'Cause we didn't actually know how to break it to him.

Finally, I took a deep breath and said. "Yeah, only there's something we need to tell you."

Only too bad for us, 'cause before I could tell him, some monkeys snatched us up.

Only Baloo didn't notice. He was already asleep, singing to himself, when a fly landed on his nose.

"Hey, uh, before you tell me, how 'bout you flickin' that old mean fly off of ol' Papa Bear's nose?" he asked.

One of the monkeys, who was sitting in Baloo's stomach in our place, did flick the fly off of Baloo's nose...with my ukulele!

"Ouch!" said Baloo. "Boy, when you flick a fly, you really..."

Only guess what? Instead of us, he found the fly-flicking monkey sitting on him.

"Why you flat-nosed, little-eyed, flaky creep!"

Up on the trees, the other monkeys tried to get a hold of us.

"Bad monkeys!" shouted Ranjan.

"Take your flea-picking hands off of those kids!" demanded Baloo.

"Come on and get 'em, champ!" taunted one of the monkeys.

"He ain't no champ, he's a chump!" said another monkey.

"Yeah! Ha-ha! A big hothead!" said yet another monkey.

"Okay, you guys asked for it. I'll..."

Only too bad fo Baloo, 'cause he tripped into the water.

"That'll cool him off!" laughed another monkey.

Baloo climbed out of the water and charged after them.

"Give me back those kids right now!" he demanded.

Two of the monkeys brought me down, holding me by my legs.

"Here's one of 'em!" said one of them. "Come and get 'er!"

Baloo did, only to bump into a tree, on account of the monkeys pulled me back at the last second.

He fell on the ground, feeling dizzy.

"That's how a bear can rest at ease!" said another monkey.

"Here's some bare necessities!" said yet another monkey as he and the others pelted Baloo with fruit.

"Now just try that again, you..."

Only too bad for Baloo, 'cause before he could finish, a papaya was thrown into his face.

"Oh, right in the kisser." said Flaps.

"That must have been one heck of a bare necessity." said Dizzy.

"Look, punks," Baloo called out. "You turn 'em loose or I'll jerk a knot in your tail!"

"We give up!" said another monkey as he let go of that Grace. "Here she comes!"

"Whoa!" said that Grace. "Baloo, do something!"

"Back up, back up!" urged another monkey. "Faster, faster, faster!"

Baloo backed up...and tumbled all the way down a cliff.

"Baloo!" shouted Mowgli before the monkeys corked him and the rest of us with bananas and swung us away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bagheera was walking through the forest when he noticed some birds flying past him.

Bagheera fell off the branch he was standing on and into the ground, where he saw some mice scampering away.

"What on earth?" he said to himself.

Just then, a loud voice came from the trees. "Retreat!"

It was Colonel Hathi. He and the other elephants ran through the woods speedy fast.

While trying to get out of the way, Bagheera found himself plucked out of the ground by one of Colonel Hathi's tusks.

"Colonel, what's going on?" he asked.

"Take cover!" shouted Colonel Hathi as he and the other elephants ran towards a cave.

"Oh, bother." Bagheera said to himself. "Here we go again."

Before he knew it, Bagheera found himself crammed inside the cave with the elephants.

"What in Mother Nature's name is going on here?" he asked while trying to squirm out of there.

"Man is in the forest!" said Colonel Hathi.

"Well, what does he want?" asked Bagheera as he poked his head out of the cave where he found a big surprise in front of him.

And it's called _Mother, Daddy and Mowgli's stepparents resting by a picnic table._

"You know, I'm surprised Junie B. hasn't complained the whole time since we got here." said Daddy

"Well, that's a first." said Mother.

Only too bad for them, 'cause when they turned around, we weren't there.

"Where'd the kids go?" said Daddy.

Mother rubbed her head.

"I knew this would happen." she said. "I told her to stay with the group, and yet, she..."

"...takes after Mowgli." chuckled the stepdaddy. "He's good at that too, you know. It's like we always say, 'you can take the boy out of the jungle,""

"'But you can't take the jungle out of the boy.'" said the stepmother.

Mother rubber her head again, saying. "That's what worries me."

"Now don't worry, we'll find them." said Daddy. "They must've taken a left turn..."

"...to Albuquerque?" joked Mother.

Daddy frowned at her. Then, he pulled out the map and looked at it.

"They must be at the Ben Johnson Trail." he said.

"Are you sure that's where they are?" asked Mother.

Daddy shrugged. "Well, anyone with half a set of smarts can see we'll find the kids by walking through this lovely meadow."

"And a lovely meadow it is, indeed." said the stepdaddy.

As he watched them leave, Bagheera realized this has something to do with...

"Mowgli!" he bellowed. "That sleazy, rotten son of a jackal."

Once out of the cave, he ran off to look for us and Mowgli.

* * *

Meanwhile, Baloo has just climbed up the cliff and called out for...

"Bagheeraaaaa!"

Only too bad for Baloo, 'cause Bagheera was already in front of him. He wasn't smiling.

"Oh, hi, Baggy." said Baloo.

"Don't you _'Hi, Baggy'_ me." said Bagheera. "Where are the children?"

"They ambused me, thousands of them!" explained Baloo. "I jabbed with my left, then I swung with the right, and then I..."

"Oh, just get to the point, Baloo." interrupted Bagheera. "What happened to the children?"

"What do ya think?" said Baloo. "Them mangy monkeys carried them off."

"The Ancient Ruins." groaned Bagheera. "Oh, I hate to think what will happen when they meet that king of theirs."

The vultures, who overheard them, flew off to the Ancient Ruins.

Only too bad for them, Baloo and Bagheera, because Shere Khan heard everything.

"A party at the Ancient Ruins? And they didn't invite little old me?" he said to himself, clicking his tongue. "Oh, well. Guess I'll have to crash their little soirée."


	6. Party Monkey

At the Ancient Ruins, more monkeys were listening to a huge orangey-tan named King Louie singing.

 _Ding ding lo-la diddly-o zing boing_  
 _Sca-be-do, hoo-be-do, zee-bo do-zeb_  
 _Diddly-doo dee-hoy_  
 _I wanna be a man-man one or-rang-a-tang tang_

Just then, one of the monkeys who captured us called out. "We've got company, Louie!"

"Oh, yeah!" said another one as he and the other monkeys lowered us down. "Man, we got 'em! We got 'em! We got 'em!"

We landed so hard, the bananas popped out of our mouths.

"Don't ever do that again, and I mean it!" I called out.

"Cool it, girly." said King Louie as she grabbed me by my explorer outfit. "Unwind yourself. _Do-doot doot-doot do-dee. Do-dee-dee-do-do-do._ "

"Yeah, only guess what? That's not even my name." I said.

"Her name is Junie B." said Ranjan.

"Well, my little jungle bee, have a banana," said King Louie as he shot a banana in my mouth. "What are a bunch o' little swingers like you doin' in these neck of the woods?"

"Yeah, only I'm not a swinger." I said while munching on my banana. "On account of I don't have a swing in my own home."

"You don't swing, eh? Well, ol' King Louie, _b_ _op-boo do-bay doo-boo-do_ , that's me, can fix it for you...if you stay with me in the forest."

King Louie shot two more bananas into Lucille and that Grace's mouths.

"What do ya say?" he asked.

"Well, that's very nice of you," said that Grace while munching on her banana.

"But we already have homes." said Lucille while munching on _her_ banana.

"Well, this can be your home too, li'l lady." said King Louie. "Allow me to lay it on the line for ya. _A bop-bop do-do do-be-do._

 _Now I'm the king of the swingers, hooo-_  
 _The jungle VIP_  
 _I've reached the top and had to stop_  
 _And that's what botherin' me_

 _I wanna be a man, man-cub_  
 _And stroll right into town_  
 _And be just like the other men_  
 _I'm tired of monkeyin' around!_

 _Oh, ooh-bee-doo, (Oop-dee-wee)_  
 _I wanna be like you-hu-hu (Hop-dee-doo-bee-do-bow)_  
 _I wanna walk like you (Cheep)_  
 _Talk like you (Cheep)_  
 _To-o-oo! (Wee-bee-dee-bee-dee-boo)_  
 _You'll see it's tru-u-ue (Shoo-be-dee-doo)_  
 _An ape like me-e-e (Scooby-doo-bee-doo-bee)_  
 _Can learn to be_  
 _Hu-u-uman_  
 _To-o-oo!_

He put his hands together next to his mouth, pretending he was blowing a horn. His right-hand monkey did the same thing, much to King Louie's frustration.

He shooed the right-hand monkey away, but he kept making horn noises and whistling while playing his leaf fan like a guitar till finally King Louie swatted him with the leaf and went on dancing and scatting.

 _Roo-baka-tee-gah, roo-baka-tee-gee_  
 _Zoo-baka too-baka too-baka too-baka too-baka_  
 _Too-bee pau-wagau to-pah_

The monkeys, me and my friends and Mowgli clapped for him.

"Gee, cousin Louie, you're doin' real good." said Mowgli.

"Now, here's your part of the deal, kids." said King Louie. "Lay the secret on me of man's red fire."

"Yeah, only we never made a deal." I said.

"Besides, we don't even know how to make fire." said Mowgli.

 **King Louie:** _Now don't try to kid me, man-cub_  
 _I made a deal with you_  
 _What I desire is man's red fire_  
 _To make my dream come true!_

Baloo and Bagheera had just arrived at the Ancient Ruins, where they could hear King Louie sing.

 _Now give me the secret, man-cub_  
 _Come on, clue me what to do_  
 _Give me the power of man's red flower_  
 _So I can be like you!_

"Fire!" said Bagheera. "So that's what that scoundrel's after."

"I oughta tear 'im limb from limb." said Baloo. "I'll beat 'im, I'll...I'll..."

Only too bad for Baloo, 'cause the jungle rhytm got to him, and he couldn't help but dance along with it.

"Ummm, yeah. Well, man, what a beat!"

"Will you stop that silly beat business and listen!" said Bagheera. "This will take brains, not brawn."

"You better believe it! And I'm loaded with both." said Baloo, still dancing.

"Would you listen?" asked Bagheera.

"Oh, yeah, yeah." said Baloo.

"OK." said Bagheera. "Now, while you stall Louie and the others, I'll sneak the children out of there. Got that?"

"I'm gone, man. Solid gone." said Baloo, who was already dancing away.

"Not yet, Baloo!" shouted Bagheera.

Just then, he could see me and my friends doing the conga line.

Bagheera zoomed off to avoid being seen and acted like a statue, with his mouth open.

Once we went past him, he tried to reach out to us.

Only just then, a lady monkey came through the door, squashing Bagheera. Only, it was not a real lady monkey. It was Baloo in disguise.

 **Baloo:** HEY!  
 _De-zop-ba-ronie_  
 _Hap-da-dee-ba-lat_  
 _Da-dat-dat-non_  
 _Hey, a-baby-dot-doo_  
 _Zaba-doo-doo-day-doo-bop_  
 _Doo-boo-doo-day, ze-bonz_  
 _Za-bop-bop-bobby_

As he sang, Baloo winked at us, hinting that he was gonna get us out of here.

Me, Lucille, that Grace, and Ranjan looked at each other, shurgged and danced our way back to get our stuff, while King Louie danced with Baloo.

 **King Louie:** _Za-bah-doo-dee!_  
 **Baloo:** _Well, a-ree-bah-naza_  
 **King Louie:** _He-beh-do-beh-doy_  
 **Baloo:** _Well, a-lah-bah-zini_  
 **King Louie:** _Wadahlabat-boodalabat_  
 **Baloo:** _Seebahlalat-dodie_  
 **King Louie:** _Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh_  
 **Baloo:** _Well, a-ha ha ha ha_  
 **King Louie:** _Rrrrahr-rrrahr!_  
 **Baloo:** _Gettin' mad, baby!_  
 **King Louie:** _Hall-owallo-a-la la_  
 **Baloo:** _Mahata alottado_  
 **King Louie:** _Hodolata-deetle-do_  
 **Baloo:** _Do-zootle-dot-dot-dot-dot-dot_  
 **King Louie** _Gingle do doot do do do doot_  
 **Baloo:** _Zeep-i-doo-da hab a daah_

Soon the monkeys started dancing with us as King Louie and Baloo kept singing.

 _You hoo hoo! (Oop-dee-wee)_  
 _I wanna be like you-u-u! (Hop-dee-doors -bee-do-bow)_  
 _I wanna walk like you! (Cheep)_  
 _Talk like you (Cheep)_  
 _To-o-oo! (Wee-bee-dee-bee-dee-boo)_  
 _You'll see it's tru-u-ue! (Shoo-be-dee-doo)_  
 _Someone like me-e-e (Scooby-doo-bee-doo-bee)_

 **Flunkey:**  
 _Can learn to be_  
 _Like someone_  
 _Like me_

 **Louie and Baloo (variously):**  
 _(Take me home, daddy!)_  
 _Can learn to be_  
 _Like someone_  
 _Like you_  
 _(One more time!)_

 **Baloo:** _Yeah!_  
 _Can learn to be_  
 _Like someone_  
 _Like me-e!_

Only too bad for Baloo, 'cause while he was singing, his disguise started to fall off him.

 _Cee-de-do-bop-bop_  
 _Bada-doodle_  
 _Dot-andot-andot-andot-andot..._  
 _(Man...)_

"Hey, what's Baloo doin' here?" asked one of the monkeys.

"Who cares?" said another monkey. "Get him outta there!"

"You know what? We'll just show ourselves out. Thanks. Buh-bye!" said Baloo as he scooped up Mowgli & Ranjan and ran off.

Only one of the monkeys grabbed Ranjan and ran the other way until King Louie grabbed him.

Lucille hit King Louie with her umbrella and grabbed Ranjan, while yet another monkey grabbed that Grace, only to be scared out of his wits by Bagheera, who roared at him, who then ran the other way, where Baloo held up a big club, which he accidentally hit Bagheera, while the monkey got away with that Grace, who grabbed onto a tree branch, saving herself.

* * *

Meanwhile, I saw that King Louie got a hold of Lucille and ran after him.

"Let Lucille go, you crazy monkey!" I shouted.

Only too bad for me, 'cause when I lunged at him, I might've accidentally broke one of the columns.

Only King Louie didn't notice. He just got a hold of _me,_ saying. "Who's crazy now?"

Only just then, King Louie saw something very terrible. And it's called _The Ancient Ruins is falling down!_

He hurried over to where the column was and tried to keep the place from falling.

That gave me an idea. I walked over to King Louie and guess what? I tickled him.

"Tickle! Tickle! Tickle!" I said. "Tickle! Tickle! Tickle! Tickle!"

King Louie laughed like crazy while I tickled him.

Only just then, the monkeys charged at me with a ram, only to send King Louie crashing into another column.

"See ya!" I said to King Louie.

Then me and my friends ran out of there speedy fast.

* * *

By the time the vultures arrived, the Ancient Ruins was ruined.

"Aww, rats!" said Buzzy. "We missed another party."

"And here comes the party pooper." said Dizzy.

The vultures flew out of sight just as Shere Khan arrived.

The monkeys ran away in fear upon seeing him.

Only Shere Khan didn't even care. He just kept walking towards a pile of rubble where King Louie is.

"That must've been some party." he said.

"Crazy, right?" asked King Louie.

Only too bad for him, 'cause he realized he was talking to the most feared animal in the forest.

He began to stutter until Shere Khan slapped him in the face.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." he said. "Although, if I may say so, you certainly brought the house down."

"Oh, it wasn't just me, man." said King Louie. "It was these kids..."

"You don't say." said Shere Khan.

"I...I...I...I _did_ say. Too much, as a matter of fact." said King Louie as he tried to walk away from Shere Khan, only to trip into some more rubble.

"And where do you suppose they could be now?" asked Shere Khan.

"I...uh...don't know where they are." said King Louie.

Only too bad for him, 'cause Shere Khan looked at him very angrily. So he had to tell us where we are.

"Uh, they took off with Baloo and Bagheera. That-a way." he said, pointing right.

"Thank you, Louie." said Shere Khan, who slyly smiled. "You've been most helpful."

"D...d...don't mention it." said King Louie.

But as Shere Khan turned to leave, he looked back at King Louie, telling him. "But if you're lying, I'll be back to claw your face off!"

Upon seeing Shere Khan's claws, King Louie gulped. "Good to know."

"Have you ever had your face clawed off by a tiger?" asked Shere Khan.

"Nope. Mm-mm." said King Louie as he shook his head.

Well, I'll tell you this." said Shere Khan. "It's not all fun and games."

King Louie nervously waved good-bye to Shere Khan as he walked past the rubble.

"That is one bad kitty cat." he said to himself before passing out.


	7. Runaway Man-cub

"That Louie may be crazy," I said while Baloo gave me a piggyback ride. "But he sure knows how to throw a party."

"You better believe it, Li'l Miss Jungle Suit." said Baloo as he put me down.

I tapped on my chin.

"Hmm, Li'l Miss Jungle Suit. I like the sound of that. What do you think, Bagheera?"

Only Bagheera didn't even answer me. He just stood there. And he wasn't smiling.

"How come you're not talking, Bagheera?" I asked. "Does the...monkey have your tongue?"

But that dumb panther didn't even laugh at my joke. He just said. "You never told us you were with your family."

My mouth fell all the way open.

"You saw Mother and Daddy?" I asked.

"Of course, I saw them!" said Bagheera. "And from what I saw, your parents, including yours, Mowgli, are looking for you."

"Mowgli, is this true?" asked Baloo.

Mowgli just stood there. 'Cause he didn't actually know how to handle this situation, that's way.

Finally he did a sigh.

"Well, we've been meaning to tell you, but..."

"What else is there to talk about?" shouted Bagheera. "You have overstayed your welcome! You _all_ have!"

"Hey, come on, Bagheera. Lighten up."

"Stay out of this, Baloo!" hollered Bagheera, who then turned his attention back to us. "As I was saying, you have overstayed your welcome. I'm taking back to your families _now!_ "

I groaned. "Why are you trying to ruin our fun?"

"It's not all fun and games with Shere Khan around!" said Bagheera.

"And what does Shere Khan have against us anyway?" asked Lucille.

"He hates man with a vengeance. You should know that!" said Bagheera. "Because he fears man's gun and man's fire."

"Yeah, only Junie B. doesn't have any of those things." said Philip Johnny Bob.

Bagheera raised an eyebrow at him, so he decided to play along, saying. "Shere Khan won't wait until she does."

He then said to the rest of us, saying. "He'll get you all while you're still young and helpless. Just one swipe..."

"Yeah, only guess what?" I said. "I'm not completely helpess. On account of I am almost six years old."

"But if Shere Khan gets a hold of you, you'll never be six years old." said Bagheera. "So, you have to go."

"But why?" asked that Grace.

"B...b...because it's for your own good!" shouted Bagheera.

"Maybe I don't want to leave the forest!" Mowgli shouted back. "Did you ever think of that?"

All of us gasped on what Mowgli said.

"You can't be serious." said Lucille.

"What if I am?!"

"Mowgli, you can't stay here." said Bagheera.

"You can't tell me what to do!" shouted Mowgli.

"I'm only trying to do what's best for you!"

"What you're trying to do is ruin my life!"

"Knock it off, you two!" said Baloo. "That's going too far."

But Mowgli just ran away and he wouldn't even stop. Not even Bagheera's voice would make him come back.

"This is all your fault, Baloo!" he shouted.

"Hey, you and I can play the blame game later, Baggy." said Baloo. "Right now, we've gotta find that kid before Shere Khan does."

"Oh, no. You've caused enough trouble for one day." said Bagheera. "I'll find the boy myself if I have to."

"Not if we find him first!" I shouted as me, Lucille, that Grace and Ranjan ran towards the same direction Mowgli went.

"Split up!" Bagheera said to Baloo. "We'll cover more ground that way."

* * *

Me, Lucille, that Grace, and Ranjan looked high and low for Mowgli. But we couldn't find him anywhere.

"Darn it." I said. "Now we'll never get him back home."

"Uh, you might want to rethink that, Junie B." said that Grace as she pointed to a tree.

I squinted my hardest. Then my eyes practically popped out of my head. 'Cause guess what? Mowgli was sitting on the tree. That's what!


	8. The Hypnotizing Snake

We all walked up to the tree Mowgli was sitting on.

"How the heck did he get up there?" I said.

"Well, I hear Mowgli's a nautral-born climber." said Lucille.

"Hey, Mowgli!" shouted Grace. "What are you doing up here?"

Mowgli didn't look back as he said. "Nothing. Just looking at the view."

Me and my friends looked at each other, then looked back up at Mowgli.

"Yeah, we're not buying it." said that Grace.

I climbed up the tree and sat next to Mowgli.

"What's gotten into you, Mowgli?" I asked. "Why did you get so snappish at Bagheera?"

"Look, I'm sorry I overreacted." said Mowgli. "It's just that I'm sick of Bagheera treating me like a baby, that's all."

I raised my eyebrows.

"He does? Really?" I asked.

Mowgli quietly nodded his head yes. Only I saw that he was sniffling and wiping away his tears.

It made me feel sorry for him.

I patted him very gently.

"Everyone thinks I'm a sloppy baby too." I said. "But I'm not."

Mowgli smiled a bit. "I don't think you're a sloppy baby, Junie B."

I smiled back at him.

"I don't think you're a sloppy baby, either." said Philip Johnny Bob.

Then me and Mowgli laughed and laughed. Only we didn't laughed long. We stopped after a minute and thought about what to do.

"If only we can make Bagheera see that." I said.

"Why bother?" said Mowgli. "He won't listen to you like he won't listen to me."

We thought about it some more. And we didn't say anything.

Finally, I did a sigh and turned back to Mowgli.

"Hey, Mowgli? When _does_ the tiger roar?"

"After he catches his prey." said Mowgli. "Why'd you ask?"

"Oh, I don't know." I said.

Then I got down in all fours.

"I just got a hankering for some monkeys, that's all."

Only guess what? When I pounced on Mowgli, we both fell down from the tree.

And we rolled and laughed and rolled and laughed all around in the grass.

Lucille walked up to Mowgli and held out his clothes.

Mowgli smiled and put them back on.

"I like you better with clothes on anyway." said Lucille.

"Me too." I said.

"Me three." said that Grace.

All of a sudden, we heard a hissing voice.

"Yesssss, well, I prefer my man-cubsssss without clothesssss."

It was Kaa the snake. He must've been following us all day, I think.

"Have you been following us all day, Kaa?" asked Mowgli.

"Maybe." said Kaa as he looked closer at Mowgli, who immediately covered his eyes.

"I know it'sssss impolite to ssssstare." said Kaa as he looked at me, Lucille and that Grace. "But I could not resissssst."

Mowgli swatted him away from us. "No, sir. I know what you're trying to do, Kaa."

"You do?" said Kaa. "Uh, I mean, you don't trust me."

"And we still won't!" said Mowgli as he shook Lucille out of hypnosis.

"Then, there's nothing I can do to help?" said Kaa.

"You want to help us?" asked Lucille.

"Certainly." hissed Kaa. "I can see to it that you never have to leave this foressssst."

"And just how could you do that?" asked that Grace.

"Hmm? Oh, I have my own sssssubtle little ways." chuckled Kaa. "But first, you must trust me."

"Yeah, only why would we trust a snake like you?" I asked as we started to walk away.

Only Kaa zoomed over to us, saying. "Come, come now. I'm not like those so-called fair-weather friends of yours. You can believe in me."

Ranjan watched from the bushes as Kaa hynoptized us and sang.

 _Trust in me_  
 _Just in me_  
 _Shut your eyes_  
 _and trust in me_

Ranjan tried to stop us from following Kaa, simply by grabbing onto Lucille's dress. But we were too zoned out and powerless to stop that he lost his grip on the dress.

"Hold still, please." said Kaa as he wrapped us with his coils and up the tree.

 _You can sleep_  
 _Safe and sound_  
 _Knowing I_  
 _Am around_

 _Slip into silent slumber_  
 _Sail on a silver mist_  
 _Slowly and surely your senses_  
 _Will cease to resist_

 _Trust in me_  
 _And just in me_  
 _Shut your eyes_  
 _And trust in me..._

* * *

Ranjan knew he had to get us away from Kaa and fast.

Luckily, Kaa's tail was sticking out.

Ranjan grabbed the tail and yanked on it.

That got Kaa's attention very quickly.

"Oh, now what?" he groaned to himself.

Then, in a happy way, he said. "I'll be right down."

Ranjan held onto the tail as he was pulled up while Kaa slithered down.

"Yes? Yes? Who is it?"

All of a sudden, a tiger came out of nowhere. Only it was no ordinary tiger.

"It is I, Shere Khan. I'd like a word with you, if you don't mind."

"SSSSShere Khan. What a sssssurprise." hissed Kaa.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I stop by." said Shere Khan. "Uh, forgive me if I've interrupted anything."

"Oh no, nothing at all." said Kaa.

"I thought you were entertaining someone up there in your coils."

"Coils? Someone? Oh, I was just curling up for my sssssiesta."

"But I could've sworn I heard you singing to someone." said Shere Khan as he grabbed Kaa's neck. "Who is it, Kaa?"

Kaa gulped. "Uh, who? Uh, no. Well, I was just...singing to myself."

"Is that so?" asked Shere Khan.

"Yes." Kaa gulped again. "Yes, you see, I have trouble with my sssssinuses."

"Oh, dear." said Shere Khan.

"Oh, you have no idea." groaned Kaa. "It's sssssimply terrible. I can't eat, I can't sssssleep, so I sssssing myself to sleep. You know, self-hypnosis. Let me show you how it works."

He looked into Shere Khan's eyes, hoping to hypnotize him. _"Trust in me."_

Only too bad for Kaa, 'cause Shere Khan put his paw on top of him.

"As tempting as it is," he said. "I'm not in the mood for one of your tricks."

"Sssssome other time, perhaps?" asked Kaa.

"Perhaps." said Shere Khan. "But at the moment, I'm searching for some children."

"Children? What children?" asked Kaa.

"Well, I didn't get much information from Louie," said Shere Khan. "But I do believe Mowgli is with them."

He looked at Kaa.

"You wouldn't happen to have him and his little friends in your coils, do you, Kaa?"

"Oo, certainly not." said Kaa as he brought down his tail. "Nothing here..."

Then, he opened his mouth. "...and nothing in here."

Just then, the two animals heard some snoring coming from the top of the tree.

It was coming from Mowgli. He must be one noisy snorer, I think.

Not wanting to let Shere Khan know he has us, Kaa made some snorting sounds.

"My sssssinuses." he fibbed.

"Hmm." said Shere Khan. "Could they be...in the middle, perhaps?"

"The middle?" said Kaa. "Oh, yes. The middle."

He lowered down his middle coils, which Shere Khan grabbed onto to feel anything lumpy.

"Absolutely nothing in the middle." laughed Kaa.

"Hmmm. I thought for sure..." Shere Khan said to himself.

Then, he said to Kaa. "Well, if you do happen to see at least one of those helpless little rugrats, you shall inform me first. Understand?"

Once again, Kaa gulped. "I get the point. Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Yes." said Shere Khan. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Kaa. Hope we can do this again sometime."

As he watched Shere Khan leave, Kaa frowned to himself. "Ooh, who does he think he's fooling? 'Those helpless little rugrats.' Ooh, he gives me the ssssshivers."

Only too bad for Kaa, 'cause when he shivered, he unknowingly loosened his grip on us.

"Picking on those poor little helpless children." Kaa went on, sighing to himself. "Oh, yes, those poor little helpless children."

Only guess what? Now that we were free, me and my friends pushed Kaa's coils off the branch and he tumbled down the tree, hitting his head on some branches along the way.


	9. A Watery Fall

Once we all climbed down from the tree, Mowgli turned to me, Lucille, that Grace, and Ranjan. "Now, if we can just skedaddle before..."

"I come back?" said a voice.

We turned our heads.

It was Shere Khan. He didn't actually leave. He knew Kaa had us the whole time.

"Well, isn't this a delightful turn of events?" he said as he placed his front paws on top of Kaa, who had just popped his head out. "I may have lost my breakfast, but I did find a five-course dinner."

"Five-course dinner?" I gulped. "You mean us?"

Shere Khan chuckled as he walked over to us. "Of course, I mean you. And, for once, I'm glad I had nothing to eat all day."

I started to feel a little bit sickish. 'Cause I never thought it would end like this.

Only just then, an idea popped into my head. And it's called _Hey! Maybe Shere Khan will change his mind if I gave him my lunch. Then maybe, he won't have to eat us._

I quick pulled my lunch out of my backpack.

"Take our lunch, not us!" I shouted.

Then I threw my lunch with all my might.

It hit Shere Khan right in the nose. Only it didn't hurt that much.

Lucille and that Grace looked at each other. Then, they did the same thing I did.

Shere Khan sniffed my lunch first.

"Phew!" he said. "Are those eggs I smell?"

"Ye...yes." I said. "That's my egg salad sandwich."

"And what's this?" asked Shere Khan as he picked up that Grace's lunch with his claw.

"That's my tuna salad." said Grace.

"And this?" asked Shere Khan as he picked up Lucille's lunch with his other claw.

"That, sir," said Lucille. "...is my crab salad on a flaky croissant, with a side order of greens in a light raspberry vinaigrette dressing."

"Hmm, tempting, yet delicious." said Shere Khan. "However, I crave for something more...alive, if you know what I mean."

Only guess what? I know what he meant.

"Oh, no. You wouldn't want us." I said. "We're so tough and gamey and...eeww..."

"Wise words from a girl-cub." said Shere Khan. "I always save the tough and gamey for dessert."

Just then, a long branch hit him on the head.

We all turned to see that Ranjan was trying to use the branch to hit Shere Khan.

And he did, I think.

"On second thought," snarled Shere Khan. "I'll just have the tough and gamey now!"

Then, he pounced on us. Except for we all ducked at the last second. And so Shere Khan hit his head on the tree.

That gave us a chance to escape.

Only I noticed that my backpack felt lightish.

I looked back. And guess who was out of my backpack?

"Philip Johnny Bob!"

"Save yourself, Junie B.!" said Philip Johnny Bob.

"Yeah, only I'm not leaving my bestest friend behind!" I said.

Only Lucille grabbed my arm before I could go back for Philip Johnny Bob.

"It's the elephant or your life, Junie B.!" she said as she pulled me along.

"I'll come back for you, Phil!" I shouted.

Kaa poked his head out to see Shere Khan chasing after us.

"Nobody sssssteals my dinner and getsssss away with it." he hissed to himself as he slithered off.

* * *

Shere Khan's roar echoed through the forest, it got Bagheera's attention.

"Good heavens!" he said to himself. "I just hope I'm not too late."

* * *

At the same time, Baloo saw us run past him.

"Run for your life!" I shouted.

"He's gone mad!" shouted Ranjan.

Baloo turned to see Shere Khan in hot pursuit.

He grabbed a hold of his tail, hoping to stop him, only to be dragged into the chase.

"Somebody, do something with those kids!" he hollered.

"That's our cue, lads!" Buzzy said to the other vultures.

They flew down and picked us up, right out of Shere Khan's reach.

"They're safe now!" yelled Buzzy. "You can let go, Baloo!"

"Are you kiddin'?" said Baloo. "There's teeth on the other end."

Just then, he and Shere Khan bumped into a log that was hanging over a waterfall.

Shere Khan flipped Baloo over his head and onto the log.

"I'll have you all in my teeth!" he bellowed as he rose his paw.

Except for Baloo backed up at the last second. And so, Shere Khan got his paw stuck on the log.

* * *

"Take us down!" Mowgli cried to the vultures. "Baloo needs help!"

Just then, we crashed into a branch.

Only it wasn't a branch. It was Kaa!

"Nobody'sssss helping anyone!" he hissed as he zoomed over to us.

Only I took off my so-very hat and used it as a shield, which Kaa hit his head into.

"Yeah, only we are!" I said as I grabbed Kaa by the neck. "And you're helping too!"

* * *

As Shere Khan struggled to get his paw free, Baloo backed up some more.

Except for just then, something terrible happened. And it's called _Baloo lost his balance and fell off the log!_

Only he held onto the end of it while the vultures swooped in and pecked on Shere Khan.

"Must I put up with more of your interference?!" hollered Shere Khan as he tried to claw the vultures with his other paw.

With Shere Khan distracted, we tossed Kaa through a open hole in the log to use as a rescue rope.

But as soon as Baloo grabbed onto Kaa, Shere Khan broke his paw free and swatted at the vultures.

"Enough!" he roared.

Just then, the log began to crack, sending the vultures tumbling down on me and my friends.

But we still kept our grip on Kaa...and Baloo.

Only too bad for us, 'cause Baloo's weight is making the log crack even more. And we couldn't even get him through the log.

"This ends now!" shouted Shere Khan as he leapt onto Baloo.

Only _his_ weight caused the log to brake.

"No!" cried Mowgli.

We all ran to the edge of the cliff, where we saw that the log fell into the water below.

Just then, we heard someone call out to us. "There you are!"

We turned around. And guess what? It was...

"Bagheera?" said Mowgli.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all right." said Bagheera. "What happened?"

"Hold it, Bagheera." said Ziggy. "Now's not the time for questions. Look."

We all looked down again to see Shere Khan burst out of the water and climbed out.

He took one last look at us from up there, dropped his head and walked away.

"Wait a minute," said that Grace. "If Shere Khan survived, then where's..."

"Baloo!" gasped Mowgli.

"Oh, no." I said. "Oh, no. Oh, no."

"I feared this would happen." said Bagheera.

Mowgli began to sniffle again.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't listened to you earlier, Bagheera, Baloo would still be..."

Only Mowgli couldn't finish what he was saying, 'cause his eyes started to get a little bit wet. And he started to cry.

"There, there, it's OK. It's OK." said Bagheera as he wrapped Mowgli in his paws. "Don't you remember what I told you, Mowgli? Greater love hath no one than he who lays down his life for his friends."

Lucille tapped on me and pointed at my hat. That means _take it off while Bagheera's talking_ , which we both did.

"When great deeds are remembered in this forest," prayed Bagheera. "One name will stand above all others; our friend, Baloo the bear."

As he and the other vultures watched, Flaps started to get all sniffly.

"You all right, Flaps?" asked Dizzy.

"I always get weepy at these type of funerals." said Flaps.

"The memory of Baloo's sacrifice and bravery will forever be engraved on our saddened hearts."

As Bagheera went on, Kaa quietly slithered out of what was left of the log.

"Ooh...my sssssacroiliac." he groaned.

"This spot where Baloo fell," Bagheera concluded. "...will always be a hallowed place in the forest, for there lies one of nature's noblest creatures."

"That was beautiful, Bagheera." said a voice.

"Oh, thank you, Ba..." began Bagheera, who soon realized he was talking to...

"Baloo?!" we all shouted.

Baloo smiled. "You were expectin' maybe Barney?"

"But...but...but...but you and...and..." I stuttered.

"...and...and...and Shere Khan...and...and...and the falls...and...and..." stuttered Lucille.

"We...we...we...we thought..." stuttered that Grace.

"I was a goner?" said Baloo. "Nah! I was just hangin'."

Mowgli chuckled, glad to see that his Papa Bear was all right.

Only not Bagheera, who was in shock to see Baloo alive and unharmed.

His mouth had come all the way open.

Ranjan closed it for him.

Just then, we heard voices hollering.

"Mowgli! Ranjan! Junie B.! Grace! Lucille!"

It was our parents calling out to us.

I turned to Mowgli, hoping I could try to talk him into coming back home with us.

Only then I realized that he rather stay here in the forest.

But Mowgli knew what I was gonna say anyway.

He bent down and gave me a pat on the back. And he said the words _let's go home._

Then Mowgli held my hand and Ranjan's hand on the other. And then all of us went off to find our parents.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaa slithered away, hissing to himself. "I ssssshall never again asssssociate with those little monssssstersssss."

As he and the other vultures watched him go, Dizzy said. "Looks like Stripes ain't the only one goin' hungry tonight."

"Yeah." said Buzzy as he and the other vultures flew off. "So, what we gonna do?"

"I don't know." said Flaps. "Hey, now, don't start that again!"


	10. Going Home

While we were walking back to where we started, Mowgli turned to Bagheera.

"Hey, listen, I'm sorry for not listening to you earlier, Bagheera."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry, Mowgli." said Bagheera. "I should've been more...welcoming than..."

"Concerned?" I said.

"Yes, I...suppose I was." said Bagheera.

"Just like my mother." I said.

"So...are we good?" asked Mowgli.

Baloo picked all of us up and gave out a big bear hug.

"Sure, we're good. Of course, we're good." he said.

"I see what you mean when you said he sounds like your grandpa." Mowgli said to me while we were being squeezed.

Just then, our parents' voices started to get louder.

Baloo quickly put us down. Then he and Bagheera ran off to hide when our parents came around the corner.

"There you are!" said the stepdaddy.

He and the other parents threw their arms around us.

"Oh, you really had us worried, honey." said Daddy as he and Mother hugged me, Lucille, and that Grace.

"I thought I told you not to go wandering off on your own." said Mother.

"I can explain, Mrs. Jones." said Mowgli. "You see, we all thought we'd take a shortcut to meet you at one of those picnic spots. But somehow, we end up getting lost. Luckily, some of my animal friends helped us find our way back."

Mother raised an eyebrow.

"Is this true?" she asked.

"One hundred percent true, Mrs. Jones." said Mowgli, who winked at us.

I winked back. Only both of my eyes kept on shutting. So, I had to hold one of them open with my fingers.

"Well, now that everyone's back together again," said the stepdaddy. "Who wants Chinese for dinner?"

I jumped way high in the air.

"Hooray!" I shouted. "Hooray for Chinese! 'Cause I hadn't eaten a thing all day."

"Well, that's really nice of you." said Daddy. "But I don't think..."

"Nonsense, my friend," said the stepdaddy as he put his arm around Daddy. "You don't even have to pay a single dollar. It is all on me."

Just then, Mowgli heard some bushes rustling. That meant Baloo and Bagheera were still hiding.

"We'll meet you back at the cars." he said. "We just need to say some good-byes."

The stepdaddy smiled and chuckled. "Alright. But don't take too long."

As the parents left, I felt someone tap on me from behind. It was Baloo.

"I think you drop something." he said.

Bagheera walked up to us. And guess who he placed on the ground?

"Philip Johnny Bob!" I shouted.

I ran up to him and hugged him with all my might.

"I thought I lost you!" I said.

"I thought I never see you again." said Philip Johnny Bob.

I threw my arms around Bagheera.

"Thank you for saving my bestest friend...Daddy Cat." I said.

Bagheera's eyes got big and wide.

He turned to Baloo and Mowgli, who only smiled and shrugged their shoulders.

Bagheera looked back at me, smiled, then wrapped his paws around me.

"You're very welcome...Li'l Miss Jungle Suit." he said.

"Well, what do ya know?" said Mowgli as he crossed his arms.

"Guess I'm not the only one who has his own li'l buddy anymore." said Baloo as he put his arm around his Li'l Britches, who smiled back at him.

Just then, we heard one of our cars honk. That meant it was time to go.

"Oh, that reminds me." said Bagheera as he held up a bunch of wild flowers with his tail.

"Thought your families would love these."

"Yes," said Lucille as she picked some wild flowers of her own. "My nanna will love them very much."

Me, that Grace, Mowgli and Ranjan picked some wild flowers of our own as well.

"Thanks for letting us stay, guys." said Mowgli. "I had a great time. We all did."

Bagheer looked back at Baloo. Both of them smiled at each other.

"Well, surprisingly enough, I suppose I did enjoy your company as well. We both did." said Bagheera. "And, although it's against my better judgement, you're welcome to come back to the forest anytime."

I did a gasp.

"You mean it? You really, really mean it?"

Bagheera chuckled. "As Baloo would say, 'you better believe it.'"

Just then, one of our cars honked again.

"Well, we better get going." said Mowgli.

"Yes, we better get going." I said. "On account of I'm so hungry I could eat a tiger."

Mowgli, Baloo and Ranjan laughed at my joke.

Lucille and that Grace laughed at my joke too.

And guess what? Bagheera laughed too!

'Cause that was a good one, I tell you!

After that, we said good-bye to Baloo and Bagheera. Then, we all ran off to catch up with our parents. 'Cause we don't want to keep them waiting, that's why.

"There goes one of the good ones." said Baloo.

Then he did a sad sigh. On account of he started to miss Mowgli and the rest of us already.

"I know it's hard, Baloo." said Bagheera.

"It always is." said Baloo.

"But you should be happy to know the children will be home safe and sound." said Bagheera as he and Baloo watched our cars drive away.

Me, Lucille and that Grace waved good-bye to them from our car. Philip Johnny Bob waved good-bye too. Only I did the waving for him.

Mowgli and Ranjan waved good-bye to Baloo and Bagheera from their car.

As he watched us pull out of the parking lot, Baloo smiled. "And I bet they can't wait to tell all their friends about us."

"I'm sure they will, Baloo." said Bagheera. "I'm sure they will."

As soon as our cars drove away, Baloo turned to Bagheera.

"Well, come on, Daddy Cat! Let's get back to where we belong. And get with the beat.

 _Look for the bare necessities_  
 _The simple bare necessities_

 **Bagheera:** _Forget about your worries and your strife_

 **Baloo and Bagheera:** _I mean the bare necessities_  
 _Old Mother Nature's recipes_  
 _That brings the bare necessities of life_

And they kept singing that song all the way home.

* * *

 **To my departed nana,**

 **Dorothy Pesci**

 **and the**

 **5th Grade Class of Foster City School**

 **(2002-2003)**


End file.
